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... is often challenging (in a fun way), especially if you're a daring soul who refuses to even blink in the direction of a recipe.
I am like that sometimes, which often results in quite interesting creations.
When I am not, I usually turn to
Fredagsgourmet and Nya Fredagsgourmet.
Since these are books in Swedish, the rest of this post will be too.
Jag litar vanligtvis inte riktigt på receptsamlingar. Visst, en kokbok kan ha sina pärlor men det är en lång och plågsam process fylld av mediokra middagar för att finna dessa.
För några år sedan upptäckte jag dock Fredagsgourmet hemma hos en gammal pojkvän. Hans mamma älskade den, och efter att ha övertygats via magtrakten tvingade jag genast mina föräldrar att köpa en likadan. Vid det här laget har både min mor och jag testat många av rätterna från båda böckerna, och det är med stor glädje jag meddelar att vi inte har blivit besvikna en enda gång. Inte ens halv-besvikna! Allt har varit beyond jättegott!
jag vill särskilt rekommendera en rödvinssås som finns i Nya ..., på sidan 128. Den har förfört mången gom här hemma.
Fredagsgourmet grundar sig på (och har således samma namn som) en populär spalt i tidningen Allt Om Mat. På baksidan av Nya Fredagsgourmet står att läsa:
"Visst är fredagen lite speciell ... En anledning att duka upp något extra gott - men utan för mycket besvär ... recept som varvar det enkla med det sofistikerade och det klassiska med det modernt nyskapande."
Boken som sådan ser inte jätteglammig ut, snarare litet folklig och vanlig. Recepten, however, är något utöver det vanliga. Redaktörerna på Allt om Mat är uppenbarligen människor med smaklökarna på rätta stället. Testa böckerna och de kommer att få hedersplats i köksskåpet!
...I have to recommend a great zombie movie, Shaun of the Dead
Actually.. it's more of a rom-com. With zombies and lots of 'em. Still, the main intrigue is in fact Shaun, a thirty-something British guy, trying to get his relationship to work. Shaun may not be my kinda guy but he does have a big heart. While he is trying to get things right people around him start to behave in a strange way. I love how they at first introduce the zombies as subtle background characters, and gradually involve them more and more (one of my favourite scenes involves a slippery floor at the supermarket. Very refined indeed). The entire movie is full of easter eggs (kinda, the definition of easter eggs is a bit harsh) and allusions, of which you catch more and more if you watch it several times.
The movie is excellent at making you squirm, scream and laugh at the same time. I love it.
Want a second opinion? Read what Pixelsurgeon has to say about it here.
..feeling sorry for myself and drinking grapefruit juice.
While doing that, I am probably going to wear one or both of these luxurious items:
- A Wheat Warmer (a heavy, oblong pillow stuffed with whole wheat grains). Great for muscle aches and.. well, pretty much any aches. Put it in the microwave, as hot as you can get it for three minutes. When you take it out, it will be warm and nice for several hours. Hang it around your neck or put it on your stomach while lying down. Not only is this great for keeping warm and feeling taken care of, you get that "fresh baked bread" aroma as well!
- Down slippers. Huge and warm. And they give you that "zombie walk" where you drag your feet around making spooky noises. Which kinda adds to your image considering that you have a cold and probably feel like walking like that anyway.
..or it might be the flu. I've had a shot taken so it won't hit me hard if that is the case.
One good thing about this is that i get to recommend my special cold cures. They are not scientifically proven to work, but heck. If you get a cold you'll try about anything, right?
- #1. If the cold is well established and has already messed up your nose and lungs, bring a cup of water to a boil. add 1 clove of garlic, and about the same amount of fresh ginger, both cut in slices. let rest for about ten minutes or so. Add a teaspoon of honey and drink! This is soothing for a sore throat and helps clear the pipes as well. It's not very tasty but I like to pretend that it's some kind of Asian chicken soup. Without the chicken, that is.
- #2. If you feel a bad one coming, but it hasn't really gotten a grip yet, this I have found VERY helpful. It has actually reversed my getting-a-cold-process several times. Which is helpful since in Sweden at wintertime, you pretty much get showered in sneezing on a daily basis on the buses and trams. Or anywhere with crowds for that matter. Ok, here's what to do: buy a huge pack(1 litre or so) of grapefruit juice (the real kind, not the ones made from concentrate). Drink it and drink it fast. All of it. My theories regarding this are: either you get an immune defense boost thanks to the vitamin C shock, or the entire body gets more sour(acidic?) and the germs and viruses die or head for another host or something. Well. My knowledge on this matter is somewhat limited, but I can tell you one thing: it WORKS. (those of you who suffer from a sensitive stomach should probably stick with cure #1)
I've heard of and once tried the legendary Ny-Quil, which is sold in the States but not to be found anywhere in Sweden. Those of you who can get a hold of that won't need my tips since you'll sleep through your entire cold anyway.
...my toothbrush. I am probably telling you this because I am getting ready to go to bed, and my favourite toothbrush naturally came to mind as recommendation #1.
The toothbrush in question, my friends, is no ordinary toothbrush. It's made by Pepsodent and has a wrinkled rubber thingy in the middle of the straws, which I've found very useful to achieve that newly-brushed, flat feel to the surface of the teeth. On the package (if I am not mistaken that is, who actuelly keeps the packages?) it is written that this brush makes your teeth whiter as well. I dunno, they might be a little right. Or, that may be an optical illusion created by your brain and the fact that your teeth FEEL cleaner, therefore whiter. Well, be that true or not, there's nothing wrong with clean teeth, is there?
